D&Z Chapter 12

I really enjoyed reading about the major conclusions from recent reading research presented in chapter twelve. I think these few points really narrow down the top five ways students are taught to read and the top five things students should read. I really want to focus in on one piece of advice given in each of these categories:

What Students Should Read

1.     Teenagers need genuine choice of reading materials: much of what they read should be self-selected, based on interest and curiosity (293).

I can’t help but wonder how much more I would have enjoyed school if I had the opportunity to select novels that sparked my interest. The only time I ever remember selecting books I wanted to read was in middle school, when we had to read 25 books each year and fill up the sticker chart (I ended up filling more than one line)! This is the first experience that comes to mind when I think about self-selected novels.

I am by no means saying that students should have a choice when it comes to everything they read in the classroom (that would be difficult because each student has a favorite genre and opinion). But, they should be able to choose some of the books they read. I think a good way to do this is give a list of novels that have the same main ideas or highlight the major topics you are trying to teach (maybe 5 books max) and have them choose from that (much like our summer reading book list- we always had options). I think this would really give students a bit of freedom, and according to D&Z, “researchers have found that the ability to choose their own reading enhances teens’ motivation to read (299).” I couldn’t agree more! So, to my fellow teacher candidates, lets give our students options!

How students are taught to read

2.     Teachers make their own reading habits and processes visible by regularly reading aloud and by explaining and modeling their thinking about content-area texts (294).

Here we go again! Model, model, model. A reading strategy we have been seeing a lot that involves teacher modeling is referred to as a think-aloud. Think-alouds were introduced in an earlier chapter, and I really think it could help students understand how they should be reading, what questions go through the minds of experienced readers, and the ways in which experienced readers get through difficult reading material. According to D&Z, all teachers are reading models whether or not we are comfortable in the role. Furthermore, students benefit when teachers share their reading lives with them, talking about books or articles they are reading, sharing information gained from texts, and modeling a literate life.

I have never actually thought about my experiences this way, but I have realized that my professors are constantly sharing their reading lives with me. A lot of times, my professors will say “I read on ScienceMag that…” or “I watched a video on NOVA PBS about…” I have never actually considered this as sharing their reading lives with me, but I suppose that is just what they are doing!  

D&Z Chapter 11

While reading D&Z chapter 11, there were a few topics that really caught my attention. I found it interesting that struggling readers don’t see what is happening in the text until a considerable amount of discussion brings the picture into focus. I think as individuals, it is easy to take our reading skills for granted and disregard those who are struggling. This is because when we read, we see the picture, and we believe everyone else does. This is where teachers are gifted! Teachers are able to understand that in order to help students understand and learn from the tasks we assign them, we must work with their reading process. If they aren’t seeing the picture, we must paint it for them. In order to help them, D&Z propose key strategies for helping struggling readers on page 281.

I especially liked these key strategies for helping struggling readers. At the beginning I understood the idea of supporting readers and pushing them to succeed, but I was questioning “How?” I think these are great strategies and definitely something to keep in mind because we are all going to have struggling readers. It is enough to help them through the text, but it will mean so much more if we incorporate these strategies. One word I have been seeing a lot is the word “model.” D&Z have definitely stressed this idea of modeling throughout various chapters in their book (including this one… specifically modeling thoughtful reading). But, I am finally understanding why… especially from observing these last few weeks and being in the classroom. Students like to see that you are performing and doing what you expect them to do. My cooperating teacher was teaching a lesson on annual parallax (the difference in position of a star as seen from Earth). There is a little demonstration you can perform to help drive home this idea of annual parallax. You have the students hold their hand out in front of them (making a fist) with their thumb sticking upwards. Have them close one eye and focus on an object in the background. Then, ask them to switch their focus between eyes (so now they close the one that was open and open the one that was closed). What they should see is a shift in the location of their thumb in relationship to the background object they were focusing on.  At first the kids felt embarrassed to sit there with their hand stretched out in front of them, but when they saw the teacher doing it, they joined in.

Believe it or not, modeling occurred to me one morning during my observations. Regardless of where I am and what I am doing, if the pledge of allegiance or the national anthem is to be sung, I stand up in respect for my country. However, this particular day, during my observations, I felt I NEEDED to more than ever. I thought “Wow… I’m really becoming a teacher!” For some reason I felt obligated to model this behavior. It really seems silly that I felt I had to model the pledge of allegiance, but if I expected them to participate, then I had to too.  I’ve noticed this is something I have been getting better at as I progress through my studies, and I never realized how important modeling is to students.

D&Z focused on modeling thoughtful reading in this particular chapter. The idea is for teaching to help struggling students by modeling their own mental processes as they read rather than throwing them to the wolves, so to say. One strategy proposed in chapter 5 was this idea of using “think-alouds,” where teachers go through their thinking as they read a passage in the text or a word problem. Eventually, the students grew familiar with this kind of thinking, and when asked to perform think-alouds on their own, they used the same kinds of inner dialogue. This goes to show how powerful modeling can actually be!

Anyway, I apologize for the rant on modeling, but it is something I have been thinking about extensively. Another topic I liked in chapter 11 was the idea of building engagement with the text. I liked how Jeff Wilhelm did this by incorporating drama and drawing in his classroom, and I also liked the idea of taped books. However, I think taped books would benefit middle school students much better than it would benefit high school students.